MAP

Use the symbols in the blue bar to resize and reshape the map to see the entire fire area.

Loading...

YORBA LINDA - Up on the highest peak in Yorba Linda, where the flames licked hungrily at homes, firefighters lost water pressure while an 800,000-gallon reservoir sat seven miles away. But nobody could tell whether it was feeding badly needed water into the system.

In fact, Yorba Linda Water District officials still aren't sure.

The 49-year-old district was under heavy scrutiny Tuesday as officials tried to explain why water pressure died in some areas, mainly among the view homes in the Hidden Hills area. Officials stressed that the 50 million-gallon system met minimum standards for fire flow and, in fact, was operating at nearly double the capacity.

Questions remained, however, about whether Orange County Fire Authority could have required - and the district could have built - a system with more firefighting capacity to serve a city built mostly among the hills nestled against a brushy state preserve.

“You can't put a system that strong in place that would be economical,” said Ken Vecchiarelli, assistant general manager of the 14,445-acre water district. “It's no secret the system was meant to fight one (structure) fire in a service area, not three or four.” The district is divided into 19 service areas.

Water from the Santiago Reservoir was desperately needed in Hidden Hills, where at least nine houses were damaged or destroyed. But flames scorched an electronic sensor that kept district officials on Saturday from being able to tell whether it was feeding the system. Communication was restored by Sunday afternoon, but there was no way to determine the flow a day earlier, officials said.

The Hidden Hills area is unique in the water district. Three pumps electronically push the water up to Hidden Hills at a 1,000-foot elevation. Most of the city is served by reservoirs that send the water downhill without the use of electronics.

Consequently, Hidden Hills is the only area where the water can't be rerouted when the pumps go out, officials said.

There is only one way in and one way out.

However, fire authority and water district managers defended the system, which like others in Southern California pushes a minimum of 1,500 gallons a minute through each fire hydrant. At times Saturday, the Yorba Linda system was pushing an additional 10,000 gallons a minute through the system, officials said.

“It was a problem of too much fire, not a problem of not enough water,” said district spokesman Laer Pearce.

Residents grumbled that firefighters walked away from blazing neighborhoods without trying to tap the water from backyard pools.

OCFA Battalion Chief Bryan Brice said firefighters can use flow pumps to pull water from pools and into water tenders that hold as much as 15,000 gallons.

But not all engines carry pumps and the blaze was moving too quickly to take the time to tap swimming pools. In some cases, the wicked wind blew the glowing embers a mile and a half away, where they ignited more fires.

“You did not have the time to find if the home had a pool and get water from it,” Brice said. “It was a rapid spread. You had to keep moving.”

Still, the explanations rung hollow among the angry residents who called the fire authority and water district, threatening to sue for the loss of their homes and demanding to know why help didn't arrive.

Residents packed Tuesday's City Council meeting as fire and water district officials laid out their case in PowerPoint, explaining they did everything they could. Mutual aid requests sent dozens of engines roaring toward the fire within half an hour. Air resources were called in and evacuation plans worked, officials said. But stepping in to the ring with Mother Nature sometimes means ending up on the losing end of the fight.

For the residents left behind to watch their homes burn to the ground, the victims of angry flames ripping through bedrooms and garage, the explanation simply wasn't enough.

"The fire hydrants didn't work,” said Diane Manista, who has lived with her husband on Mission Hills Road in Hidden Hills for the past 19 years. “No firemen came because there was no water."

"Five trucks passed our street,” said Manista. “No one would stop. When I flagged down a truck, they said there was no water.”

“Have you ever sat on a curb and heard a house burn to the ground?” said Yorba Linda resident Judy Dickinson, who fought the flames with buckets of water from a backyard pool. “It moans and groans. The community is called Hidden Hills, and it was hidden from firefighters, water and help."

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.